Question New version

[Jorn]

Hi

Hopefully one of you can enlighten me on the following;

In the new version 0.10;

1. Is the problem fixed regarding not showing tasks without a start or due date ?

2. I have made some minor changes reg weather; Deg Fahrenheit to Deg C, added a third city, and other minor issues. Do i have to start all over again with the new .txt files in order to use these settings again or can i use the previous slider.txt and config.txt (from version 0.98) ?

Best regards Jorn

[Eitel]

2. I have made some minor changes reg weather; Deg Fahrenheit to Deg C, added a third city, and other minor issues. Do i have to start all over again with the new .txt files in order to use these settings again or can i use the previous slider.txt and config.txt (from version

You should be able to use the same config.txt as the older version.  The slider.txt must likely has changed, but I haven't checked yet.

[Jorn]

Hi

I have tried it now, copying slider.txt and config.txt from the previous version (adjusted for some minor settings) doesnt work.

It appears that the issue with tasks not being displayed if they dont have an starting or due datestill remains. This, is fatalt i think, if one relyes on TP showing all tasks, in a hurry it is easy to forget to set any starting od due date.

Hence ill stick with version 0.98 for now.

Best regards Jorn

[sop]

i have made massive changes in the slider.txt to get it the way i want.
if i have to do this all over again, i will stick with 0.98.
or does anyone know which - hopefully minor - changes will make an old slider.txt work?

[arbitrajeu]

Personally, the only changes I can recollect making to make my skin work with 0.10.0 were some if...else format changes.

However, I don't use POOM commands with my skin, which is where some of the more radical change was.  I think those changes were mostly around moving the POOM formats into the skin file, which should be very easy to do, especially if you refer to the slider.txt shipped with 0.10.0.

A minor point on this whole topic: We're all still beta-testing TodayPlus, and change like this is inevitable.  I would like to encourage srs to continue to make format changes, etc, which aren't backward compatible, if they will lead to a more logical command structure and better architected solution in the long-term.  The proviso would be that he continues to be as communicative about the changes, so we can all "upgrade" as painlessly.  I would hate to see TodayPlus getting hamstrung early by compatibility, as so many mainstream products are (MS OS's and apps, for example).

[CoolWolf]

A minor point on this whole topic: We're all still beta-testing TodayPlus, and change like this is inevitable. I would like to encourage srs to continue to make format changes, etc, which aren't backward compatible, if they will lead to a more logical command structure and better architected solution in the long-term. The proviso would be that he continues to be as communicative about the changes, so we can all "upgrade" as painlessly. I would hate to see TodayPlus getting hamstrung early by compatibility, as so many mainstream products are (MS OS's and apps, for example).

Good point! I totally agree with arbitrajeu here.

[mee8495]

I would rather have seen the original theme unchanged and another one added when there were modifications to the code.  The new theme didn't auto-size and there were some other qwerks.  It would be easier to troubleshoot - I would think - were the code to have changed and the theme/skin/layout remain the same and a new theme added to try the new features.  I gave up on trying to find the problem between the config file and the skin file and just reinstalled the old version.  All better now...

[Morpheus]

As the original brighthand thread indicated we are all beta testing TodayPlus and as a beta it is subject to radical changes in functionality, bugs and other potential problems. Therefore command format changes have to be expected  and hopefully as it nears an initial non-beta release these will be less and less.

I now use the OSX complete skin with minor modifications myself but with each release whilst my config.txt has stayed pretty constant, the format of the skin file (and the skin itself) has continually evolved (for the better IMO) requiring my modifications to be reimplemented rather than copied. This is definitely the best Today plugin I have tried and I think constant improvements are worth the inconvenience when things have to be reworked as ultimately it will result in a better plugin.

just my tuppence worth on the topic,

Morpheus

[BrightLight]

Personally, the only changes I can recollect making to make my skin work with 0.10.0 were some if...else format changes.

A minor point on this whole topic: We're all still beta-testing TodayPlus, and change like this is inevitable.  I would like to encourage srs to continue to make format changes, etc, which aren't backward compatible, if they will lead to a more logical command structure and better architected solution in the long-term.  The proviso would be that he continues to be as communicative about the changes, so we can all "upgrade" as painlessly.  I would hate to see TodayPlus getting hamstrung early by compatibility, as so many mainstream products are (MS OS's and apps, for example).

Unfortunately in my estimation, this isn't a "minor point".  Nothing is ever going to be "perfect".  At some point you simply have to "bite the bullet" and stabilize the feature set and underlying architecture.  

I don't care what software you are looking at (e.g. MS OS's, Mac OS, Linux, MS Office, Pocket PC apps etc.), no one ever gets it right with release "1".  There is ALWAYS something that could be done "better".

For better or worse, here are my thoughts on the subject (most of which previously appeared in the "Beta Testers for new today screen plugin wanted." thread on BrightHand on page 145 on 10/8/03):

http://discussion.brighthand.com/showthread.php?s=eec5473eaa5f733cb2b1a31177b20dc3&threadid=85179&perpage=10&highlight=TodayPlus&pagenumber=145

I have included the original comments and my perception of their current status in bold.

Unfortunately the base functionality is still a moving target.

This is still true.

To this end I recommend the following:

1) Freeze the Release 1.0 feature list

It is very important to resist the urge to add the next wizbang feature to the 1.0 release. It may be very easy to add a new feature but every change has a "down stream" effect (e.g. on users, documentation, skins etc.)

This has not yet been done.

2) Branch the code once the feature list is frozen so that new development doesn't interfere with the 1.0 release.

To my knowledge, this has not yet been done.

3) SRS should designate someone (or himself) to be responsible for coordinating the 'official' documentation to ensure accuracy and consistency, even though many people may actually contribute.

There have been great strides in this area, but the 'skin reference' hasn't been updated since 0.9.1. Until the feature list is frozen, it will continue to be an uphill battle to keep the documentation in sync.

http://www.dark-mojo.com/TodayPlus/viewtopic.php?t=3

4) Provide release notes with each release describing any new functionality or bug fixes.

Each release now contains this basic information, but takes some time to work its way back into the core 'skin reference' documentation.

http://www.dark-mojo.com/TodayPlus/viewforum.php?f=9


If these these things are done for Release 1.0:

a) The Brighthand/TodayPlus community can help with the documentation
By improving the Install, setup and configuration, TodayPlus can be provided to a much larger audience who is more concerned about ease of use and basic functionality/setup then becoming the next master hacker.

Over the long haul, this will also allow srs to spend less time directly supporting users.

b) Allows SRS to spend more time on development (e.g. bug fixing and new functionality)

c) Will provide a much more stable platform for those who don't need to be on the bleeding edge and are perfectly happy with the existing functionality, but don't need/want to tinker with it every day.

As previously mentioned however, the code needs to stabilize before a significant effort can/should be made.

Unfortunately the last 10% of software development is often the "least fun", but absolutely necessary to allow a project to succeed outside of its "hard core" users.

Personally at this point, I am looking for "less" Beta and "more" RC1 on the way to RTM .  I truly believe that a "critical" mass of functionality has been attained and simply needs to be polished.  

I am still leery about investing any significant amount of time in skin development given the amount of changes that are still being made.  In addition, it is much more difficult to maintain code stability whenever new features or major architecture changes are introduced.

Personally I would prefer:
a) Feature freeze/code stabilization
b) Updated documentation
c) Associated sample skins

Note: This has been in beta since 7/27/03 and truly appreciate the effort that everyone has made.  My only hope is to help focus that effort.


- BL

[fishboy]

There have been great strides in this area, but the 'skin reference' hasn't been updated since 0.9.1. Until the feature list is frozen, it will continue to be an uphill battle to keep the documentation in sync.

The current documentation is at version 0.9.8 (granted with a few errors).  You need to follow the thread to get at the latest version.  In the future will work on updating the link within the first message.

[jhollin1138]

i have made massive changes in the slider.txt to get it the way i want.
if i have to do this all over again, i will stick with 0.98.
or does anyone know which - hopefully minor - changes will make an old slider.txt work?

With release of v0.10.x, most of the underlying POOM stuff is now included in the "skins" and is no longer included with in the config file.  I believe the reason for this is to help stabilize user customizable settings from skin customizing.

To get your tweaked slider skin working, just use a new (v0.10.x) config file.  Also, replace your existing POOM section of your skin with POOM section from new (v0.10.x) slider "skin."

[jhollin1138]

The current documentation is at version 0.9.8 (granted with a few errors).  You need to follow the thread to get at the latest version.  In the future will work on updating the link within the first message.

I think the problem is that Eitel's link is still for v0.9.1 skin reference.  The updated skin reference is buried deep in the thread.  Eitel's link should be updated or removed to solve some of the confusion.

[pli7]

1. With 0.10.1, is the problem with the multiple soft-reset / hard-reset now fixed?  Is it now safe to try this version without the great risk of a hard reset?

2. Can someone please summarize (for those of us who have heavily customized 0.9.8 skin and config files) what changes need to be made to bring those files up to 0.10.1 level?

Thanks,
pli7

[jhollin1138]

2. Can someone please summarize (for those of us who have heavily customized 0.9.8 skin and config files) what changes need to be made to bring those files up to 0.10.1 level?

I thought I just did 2 posts above your post?

[arbitrajeu]

1. With 0.10.1, is the problem with the multiple soft-reset / hard-reset now fixed?  Is it now safe to try this version without the great risk of a hard reset?

We've had no reports of hard resets with this version - even Lightman has managed to avoid one...

2. Can someone please summarize (for those of us who have heavily customized 0.9.8 skin and config files) what changes need to be made to bring those files up to 0.10.1 level?

In addition to the POOM changes jhollin1138 mentioned, you also should refer to the original post which accompanied 0.10.0 to see the format of the if and calcvar commands.  Some of these have changed, such as if,refresh... and the replacement of if,battery... with calcvar,...,battery which should then be used with an if,var....  It is worth checking all your if statements to see if they are unchanged.